Page 44 of Art of Love

Chapter Thirteen

Dylan watched Abe’s face pale and knew instantly that he’d had no idea what the initial police report had claimed about Kara that night. Or that they had assumed that he had been the one to be intimate with her. This was another reason her family had looked at him closely. Her clothes had been torn from her and there were marks on her skin that didn’t appear to have been caused by the accident.

Reaching out, she took his hand.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded and she watched him swallow a few times before standing up quickly and walking over to the railing on the deck. His hands gripped the railing like a vice, as if he could shatter the wood with his fingers.

She moved over to his side slowly, as if approaching a wounded animal.

“I… had a suspicion”—he sighed and glanced at her—“that she was seeing someone else. It’s one of the reasons why we met that night. That and I was thinking about not going on tour. No one else knew, but…” He glanced sideways at her.

“You think she was seeing someone else?” She frowned and tried to process this new information.

His eyes met hers as he turned towards her fully and nodded once. “I noticed things. She would receive text messages and lie to me about who they were from. She would say she had to study for a test and when I asked how the test went, she forgot she had told me she had one.” He closed his eyes and leaned on the railing a little more. “She was a terrible liar.”

“Do you know who? Suspect anyone?” she asked, her heart jumping slightly. This could be the break they needed.

He shook his head and looked off as the sun sank lower over the horizon. “No, no idea. Maybe Kevin would know.” He took a deep breath as she watched him carefully.

Kevin. The man was pissing her off. Not only had he flaked at their meeting in Edgeview, the one that he had requested, but the next morning he’d called and made an excuse about going to a bar and losing his phone.

There was no doubt in her mind now that Abe had nothing to do with Kara’s death. She’d wanted to believe that the moment she’d been hired, but now she knew it down to her very core.

“You said she would get text messages?” she asked. When he nodded, she moved back over to her bag and pulled out her computer. “If you knew it, would you recognize someone’s number if you saw it?”

He moved over and sat down next to her as she flipped open her computer screen and pulled up the official report, scanning ahead for the phone logs.

“Here.” She motioned with her finger. “These numbers I was unable to track down. They’re from a burner number and are no longer in use.”

He frowned. “I know a few industry people use burner numbers but those don’t look familiar, and, well…” He glanced at her. “Don’t drug dealers use those too?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, but mainly in TV shows and movies. Still, they can be used by anyone. I tracked the number to a phone that was purchased at a gas station in Lakeview just outside of LA.”

“My old townhouse was in that area. Kara’s place was closer to the college.”

“Yeah, which is why the police thought…” She dropped off.

“That I had purchased the phone,” he jumped in quickly. “Right.”

“The text messages were somewhat cryptic. Meeting times, places, but…” She clicked the keyboard. “This last one pretty much cleared your name.” She showed him.

“Just dropped him off.”

“We need to talk. I can’t do this much longer. Everyone is getting suspicious.” Kara replied.

“I’ll head to our usual spot.”

“Fine, but I’m tired of pretending with him.” Kara had responded.

“Just a little longer, then I’ll leave her for good and we can be together like we want,” came the response.

She felt her stomach swirl at the low sound emanating from Abe’s chest. Was it pain or anger? Hard to tell.

“What does that mean?” He glanced over at her. “I’m tired of pretending with him?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he added, “Who is he going to leave? A wife?”

She nodded slowly. “I also assumed from some of the other messages that whoever Kara was seeing was married or at least in a long-term relationship.”